By Noah Bergam '21 Once meant as a method to curb nicotine addiction, vaping has become an increasingly widespread practice among American youth. As the number of vaping high school students across the country rises, it has become ever more important for teens, as...

By Monica Chan '21 On November 20th, the final day before the start of Thanksgiving break, the Buttondowns serenaded the Upper School in Hauser Auditorium at their annual Buttondowns Assembly. The elite boys’ acapella group is led this year by president Rajeev...

By Vicky Gu '20 On November 14, Pingry’s advanced Upper School visual arts students took their annual field trip to the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. There, they visited many diverse art galleries, each displaying various media, such as paints, prints,...

By Hannah Guglin '20 On Saturday, November 17th, Pingry’s GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) travelled to Middletown High School South to attend the 2018 New Jersey GSA Forum. The GSA Forum is an annual gathering of GSAs across the state to discuss LGBTQ+ issues. The forum...

By Alex Kaplan '21 On November 8th, the Jewish Affinity Group hosted a town hall in the wake of the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Eleven people were killed, making it the deadliest attack on Jews in the United States. While...

By Nicole Kloss '19 German Club consists of a group of Pingry students who are eager to learn more about German culture and language. During meetings, we discuss German traditions and holidays while enjoying traditional German food. We also learn a few German words...

Featured Student News

By Chase Barnes '21 There were many constants for me this summer. Begrudgingly rolling out of bed every day at 6 AM, relentless heat and humidity, crazy parents, and, of course, children. This summer, for seven weeks, I was a camp counselor at a local YMCA. Reflecting...

By Noah Bergam '21 In the last few weeks of summer, as bored as anyone on a lazy August afternoon might be, I decided to intern at my local Democratic congressional campaign. In some ways, I felt pressured; my parents kept telling me I should try something new...

By Lauren Drzala '21 July 23, 2018 will be a day I will always remember. After finishing my lunch for the day, I began to feel sharp pains in my stomach and immediately thought - “this is very unusual for me.” Hours passed and the pain just kept getting worse. I was...

By Zara Jacob '21 The class of 2021 eased into their sophomore year with a trip to New York City, exploring exhibits in the Museum of Natural History and and seeing the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical,” Dear Evan Hansen. With not a single textbook or laptop in hand,...

By Anjali Kapoor '20 I’ve always wanted to follow in my uncle’s footsteps and become a doctor. My uncle is an orthopedic surgeon with his own hospital in India and I was always mesmerized by the dozens of patients and doctors swarming the halls. While I knew that I...

By Martha Lewand '20 Ever since the movie Mamma Mia was released, fans (including myself) have been anxiously waiting for a sequel. Ten highly-anticipated years later, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again! is finally here! Directed by Ol Parker, the film had my friends and I...

By Allie Matthias '19 On the Fourth of July, I paddled up the Mississippi River as part of a New York Times Student Journey. The late afternoon sun-baked the canoe as sweat dripped down my back. My heart pounded, my eyes stung from melted sunscreen, and my arms began...

By Caroline Santoro '19 The first time I met my boss, he was accompanied by a swarm of Secret Service agents, and I was wearing a bright red bathing suit. Given my reputation as the “ethics girl,” people react pretty strongly when they hear that for the past two...

By Avidan Shah '21 Pingry’s headmaster, Mr. Nathaniel Conard, announced his resignation this past June after a 13-year tenure. Headmaster Conard has made leaps and bounds towards improving our school and the quality of life for Pingry students, one of his greatest...

By Zach Trichas '19 With the start of the new school year, Pingry’s physics wing has been completely redone. The first floor of the wing now offers a collaborative area, with wall-mounted desks underneath the stairs. Unlike the previous stairwell, the new stairs are...

Arts

By Brooke Pan (III) On February 1, the students in the Drama program visited the McCarter Theater to see a live performance of the play Stones in His Pocket by Marie Jones. There, students were captivated by the performance of two actors, Garrett Lombard and Aaron...

By Rhea Kapur (III) From February 7th through March 6th, the Hostetter art gallery was home to the 22nd Annual Pingry Student Photography Exhibition. Over two hundred photographs were submitted, depicting the best work of students spanning fifteen different public and...

By Udochi Emeghara (V) On Monday, January 22, the Drama II class held their annual drama assembly showcasing the skills they have worked on throughout the year. This year, the class performed "Appropriate Audience Behavior" by Mr. Ian McWerthy. This play spoofs...

By Meghan Durkin '21 On February 22, 23, and 24, Pingry’s Drama and Music Departments presented this year’s winter musical, The Addams Family, a quirky comedy written by Andrew Lippa. Following the members of the infamous clan known for their...

By Grace Wang (III) During the week before Thanksgiving break, four of the school’s musical groups performed in this year’s Ensembles Concert. The concert consisted of the strings ensemble, the Buttondowns, the Balladeers, and the jazz band. The concert took place in...

By Mariam Trichas '18 On Tuesday, November 14th, the photography, portfolio, film, and drawing and painting classes visited the Chelsea Galleries in New York City for their annual gallery trip. They went to many different types of galleries,...

By Eva Schiller '21 On November 21, students and faculty members took a break from their busy school day to enjoy the Buttondowns Assembly, a highly anticipated annual event presented by the Buttondowns, Pingry’s all-male acapella group led by president Jonathan Huang...

By Vicky Chen (V) Named the Best Picture of 2017 by L.A. Critics, Luca Guadagnino's controversial Call Me By Your Name explores the harrowing coming-of-age experiences of first love and identity. The movie stars Timothee Chalamet as 17-year-old Italian-American Elio...

By Udochi Emanghara (V) On December 13, 2017, Pingry hosted the annual Winter Festival, the only time that the Upper School and Lower School come together for one event. This festival has been a tradition for over 100 years. It celebrates the accomplishments of the...

By Allison Verdesca '18 On November 9, 10, and 11, the Drama Department performed its annual fall play Antigone by Sophocles. The Greek tragedy describes life in the city of Thebes under the domineering rule of King Creon. A part of Pingry’s freshman English...

Athletics

By Josie Alston '21 Led by captains Michael Sun (VI) and Chris Yu (VI), the boys’ fencing team is off to an excellent start. With preseason conditioning and footwork finally coming to a close, the team is beginning to transition into competition preparation. As the...

By Josie Alston '21 Captains Jamie Wang (V) and Georgia Liu (VI) are leading the girls’ fencing team in a strong direction this year. During preseason, they guided the team through conditioning and footwork; now, at the start of the season, they look forward to...

By Noah Bergam '21 The boys’ basketball team is off to a great start this season, having lost only four seniors to graduation. Under the leadership of Captains Nate Hefner (VI), Kyle Aanstoots (VI), and Ray Fluet (V), the team is excited to kick off the new season....

By Noah Bergam '21 The co-ed wrestling team is off to a promising start this winter, hoping to improve upon their performance from last year. Led by Captains Jack Lyons (VI), Zach Dobson (VI), and Brandon Spellman (VI), as well as talented senior wrestlers like Kamal...

By Alisa Chokshi '19 The girls’ varsity squash team is looking to advance even further after last year’s huge successes. Last year, the girls’ team took first place overall at the New Jersey High School Squash Championships and placed 11th at the High School Nationals...

By Felicia Ho '19 The girls’ basketball team is ready to start off its season with a swish. Coach Courtney Tierney’s hope is that the girls will “learn as a team daily, play with a fast-paced style, and be competitive in the Skyland Conference and the Prep...

By Josie Jahng '19 Led by captain Matthew Keller (VI) and assistant captains Daniel Schnack (VI) and Michael Vessa (VI), the boys’ varsity ice hockey team is ready for another great season. Coming off a solid 14-5-1 record last year, the team is “expecting big things...

By Brian Li '22 Last year’s boys’ squash team had a successful season with a 10-3 record, finishing 15th in the country. With captain Krish Bhavnani ‘18, the team achieved their goals and realized their next steps. Mr. Ramsay Vehslage has been coaching the boys’...

By Justin Li '21 As they head into their season, the girls’ swim team is working hard to continue the last year’s success. Led by Head Coach Deirdre O’Mara, the team is coming off of a 6-2 season full of school- and state-record breaking. Captains Grace O’Mara (VI)...

Columns

By Kristine Fu '19 With the end of winter break, we are reminded that the annual Snowball Dance is approaching! This year, Snowball is on Saturday, January 26th. It is a night to relax, hang out with friends, and take pictures in our beautiful dresses and handsome...

By Felicia Ho '19 Winter is brutal. Icy winds blow through your useless coat, chilling you to the bone. Your car might be smothered under a thick layer of snow, and your hands, already numb from shoveling snow off the driveway, will be as frozen as the icicles hanging...

By Aneesh Karuppur '21 The December season is one of the most active for new technology, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday marking the beginning of the holidays. But before delving into the tech world at large, let us take a look at how the Student Technology...

By Kristine Fu '19 Despite this season’s dreary weather, fall fashion is as colorful and vibrant as ever. This season, pastel-colored corduroy skirts, shearling sweaters, and studded ankle boots are in vogue, while floral sundresses and denim shorts have become a...

By Felicia Ho '19 Looking for a quick bite after a long morning of running errands at Costco on Route 10 in East Hanover? Instead of reaching for a mountain of greasy fries from Five Guys, take a minute to walk just a bit further and stop by So Gong Dong (S.G.D.) Dubu...

By Zara Jacob '21 The class of 2021 eased into their sophomore year with a trip to New York City, exploring exhibits in the Museum of Natural History and and seeing the Tony Award-winning “Best Musical,” Dear Evan Hansen. With not a single textbook or laptop in hand,...

By Aneesh Karuppur '21 Back to school means new teachers, new courses, and, of course, new technology. This past summer at Pingry, members of STC interned with the Technology Department. Under the guidance of Mr. Frantz, Mr. Azar, and Mr. Burkhart, two teams completed...

By Martha Lewand '20 Ever since the movie Mamma Mia was released, fans (including myself) have been anxiously waiting for a sequel. Ten highly-anticipated years later, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again! is finally here! Directed by Ol Parker, the film had my friends and I...

By Allie Verdesca '18 Spring is my least favorite season. Allergies get worse and schedules get busier. What’s more, the weather has not been very cooperative in keeping me going throughout the school year. Especially with senioritis sinking in, I am finding it hard...

By Felicia Ho '19 Feeling cranky after oversleeping on a beautiful Sunday morning? Looking for a great place to unwind and chat with friends and family? Tired of waiting as the minutes slowly tick by for only a bite-sized meal? Look no further than the dim sum at...

Opinion + Editorials

By Lauren Drzala '21 Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie: just a few of the elements that help make a Thanksgiving feast for most people. As you all know, Thanksgiving break came to a screeching halt after five days. For me, it was not enough time to recharge...

By Ethan Malzberg '19 The news broke for me on Twitter. It was Saturday, October 27. While taking a break from college essays, I never expected to scroll past frantic headlines announcing a massacre against my community. The Monday following the shooting at the Tree...

By Eva Schiller '21 On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I was dragged out of my room to watch the opening skit of Saturday Night Live. It was a rerun commenting on Kavanaugh's election by the Senate, and depicted Republican senators partying after the judge was...

By Noah Bergam '21 Upon re-entering Pingry during this back-to-school season, I noticed that, in my discussion-based classes, I tend to find myself fighting total classroom silence. That’s not to say I am the only one participating – there are plenty of other students...

By Armani Davidson '19 With application deadlines on the horizon, stress mounting, and college less than a year away, seniors are looking for guidance anywhere. I believe some answers for the overworked grade may be hiding in an unexpected source: here are ten reasons...

By Nava Levene-Harvey '19 Senior year has begun for Pingry’s class of 2019. Somewhere on the horizon, college acceptances and rejections, mental breakdowns, and unimaginable stresses all await my classmates and me. Now, the many awards ceremonies I used to think of as...

By Alessia Zanobini '19 I firmly believe that involvement in government and politics should start from a young age, whether that consists of reading the newspaper or running for student government. Early political engagement leads to informed voters and experienced...

By Michael Weber '18 Wow... it’s over. One whirlwind year as Student Body President and four total years on Student Government, all done as of two weeks ago. The more time I’ve had to reflect on the past year in particular, the more I’ve come to appreciate just how...

By Rachel Chen '18 If I had a penny for every article or piece of advice I’ve heard about getting into college, I’d be rich enough to actually pay my college tuition. And what I’ve gleaned from them is this: Good grades and test scores are a must, supplemented by...

By Shruti Sagar '18 A couple weeks ago, we had our final peer group meeting, and hidden in between a few different side conversations, I heard one of my peer groupies quietly ask how bad junior year really is. I started to talk to him about junior year a bit, and...

Faculty + Staff News

By Vicky Chen '19 This fall, Mr. Richard Fulco joined the Upper School English department where he will be teaching a wide variety of students. He is teaching two sections of ninth grade English, three sections of twelfth grade World Literature, and Creative Writing...

By Vicky Gu '20 This fall, Dr. Ryan Johnson joins the Upper School’s Spanish Department, teaching Spanish 6 Honors and Spanish 3. Most recently, Dr. Johnson lived in South Carolina, teaching at Hilton Head Preparatory School for two years. Before that, he taught...

By Vicky Gu '20 This year, Ms. Sara Hall joins the Middle School as a new teacher in the Spanish Department. She will teach Spanish levels 1A and 2. Before coming to Pingry, Ms. Hall taught Spanish for 9 years in Illinois and Connecticut, mostly in urban public...

By Felicia Ho '19 Madame Anne Changeux joins the Middle and Upper School foreign language department to teach French 1, 2, and 4 Honors in the Upper School and French 2 in the Middle School. She is also the French coordinator for the French-American global programs....

By Felicia Ho '19 This fall, Mr. David Rushforth joins the Pingry community to teach the Financial Literacy curriculum. Outside of the classroom, he coaches the Upper School Boys’ third Soccer team and the Middle School Girls’ Tennis teams. He also advises the Credit...

By Aneesh Karuppur '21 This fall, Sra. Alexa López joins Pingry as a Spanish teacher and the Assistant to the Chair of the Department of Diversity and Inclusion. As a member of the World Languages Department, she teaches two sections of Spanish 2 in the Upper School....

By Sophia Lewis '22 This fall, the Pingry arts department welcomes Ms. Melody Boone to Pingry as a new faculty member. She will be teaching Art Fundamentals and Architecture to Upper School students, as well as an Art and Nature class to Middle School students. In...

By Brooke Pan '21 This fall, the Pingry Upper and Middle Schools welcome Dr. Adam Rosen to the campus’s Counseling Department. Dr. Rosen will work both in the office as a counselor and outside his office on projects to help aid the Pingry community. Dr. Rosen attended...

By Ashleigh Provoost '22 This year, Coach Julia Braun joins the Pingry faculty as a fitness teacher and resident coach. She will be teaching Intro to Fitness and Fitness Education, while also coaching soccer, basketball, and lacrosse. She will be working with those...

By Eva Schiller '21 This year, Pingry welcomed Dr. Sabrina Chin-Shefi into the Middle and Upper School Language Departments, where she will be teaching Chinese 2, Chinese 5, and Chinese 7. Eager to get more involved in the Pingry community, she has already explored...